-15 March 2006-

Ice Cream Please!!!

This passage really touches my heart from the recent book that i'm currently reading right now.Love to share with you all.
"I want ice-cream, Daddy!""Eat your supper first, Joshua, and then you can have some ice cream." It was the beggining of a conversation with my son, Joshua, one evening as he and I enjoyed a meal together. " I want ice cream, Daddy!""Eat your supper first, Joshua," I repeated, " and then you can have some ice cream. You can't have the ice cream until you eat your supper."
Joshua sat there, looking first at his dinner plate and then back at me. After some time, and a battle of the wills, he pocked up his fork and began to eat the food before him. As he chewed his food slowly, he glanced at me from time to time, seemingly trying to determine how serious I was about his eating his dinner.

He was rather quiet as he ate his food, not his normal talkative self. He ate his food unenthuasiastically, tiny bite by tiny bite. To encourage him, I reminded him about the delirious ice cream waiting for him in the freezer.

When he finally finished, he triumphly showed me his empty plate, and with dazzling eyes and a smile that stretched across his entire face, said, "Ice cream, Daddy!! i want ice cream!!"
It gave me so much joy to hand him a generous bowful of the ice cream i had promised. I was thrilled that he had obeyed me, and now i could bless him with dessert.

Several days later as i reflected on it, i realised that my evening esperience with Joshua and the ice cream held rich insights regarding our relationship with our heavenly Father and His willingness to bless His children. Isn't amazing how God designed the relationship between parents and children to give us an idea of His love and care for us? From the first moment Joshua looked at me with his beautiful dark eyes and asked for the ice cream, I absolutely wanted to give it to him because I knew how much he wanted it. However, as his father, I had responsibility for his well being. I knew how important it was for him to have the proper nourishment of a balanced meal, for while the main course is rarely as enticing as the dessert, it is almost always more beneficial.
But when Joshua finally ate that last morsel, held up his empty plate, and said, "Ice cream, Daddy!!" i want ice cream!" i was delighted to fulfill my promise and give him a big bowl of his favorite treat.

That's how our Father in heaven operates. He will satisfy our desires when we obey Him. My son had a desire for ice cream, but i knew that he really needed a balanced meal. I wanted to give Joshua his desired dessert, but he needed to obey me first concerning his need. After Joshua obeyed, I was delighted to give him plenty of icew cream.

This just how our loving heavenly Father relates to us. We read in Scripture: Delight yourself also in the LORD,And He shall give you the desires of your heart.(Ps. 37:4) When we delight in Him, He gives us the desires that are submitted to His lordship. And since our heavenly Father rules over all without limitation, He delights to send wonderful blessings to His children when we obey Him.

* Friends I hope you all have been blessed by the passage as good as it is for me and as for you :)